


Goldenpaw's Mistake

by Goldencloud



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-21 22:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7407049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldencloud/pseuds/Goldencloud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Goldenpaw has always been an obedient apprentice—well, most of the time at least. Still, she never thought she would break any rules in the warrior code, so when she accidentally breaks the most important one of all, it not only creates a huge problem that she now has to solve, but completely throws her for a loop. Guilt, sadness and stress threaten to overtake her...can she handle it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't put the allegiances here...I just thought it would take up too much space, and not a whole lot of people read them anyway. If you're confused by certain characters, just let me know and I'll tell you about them. I just don't see much point in the allegiances, so I didn't include them.

The call of an owl filled the air on a cool newleaf night. A round moon hung in the sky, bathing the forest in silver light and illuminating a hollow filled with flowers of all kinds.

Two cats appeared from nowhere out of a patch of lilies. Their pelts were translucent and filled with stars, and they made no noise as they padded out of the hollow and through the forest.

The smaller of the two, a white-and-gold tabby, glanced up at her companion. “Thrushfur, are you _sure_ this is the right way?”

“Positive, Flowerfall.” The gray-blue tom nuzzled her reassuringly. “I’ve walked this path so many times I’ve lost track.”

Flowerfall still looked unsure, but followed her mate as he led her over a large log and through a patch of ferns, their fronds still tightly curled. Finally, the pair ducked under a bush to find themselves at the entrance to a camp.

“We’re here,” Flowerfall murmured. “Come on. Dawn will be here soon.”

Thrushfur pushed aside a few ivy stems and trotted through the tunnel they had been hiding, emerging into a small clearing with a tree in the middle and dens lining the edges. Flowerfall followed him, gazing at the camp with a small smile. “Just like I remember.”

“We’re not here to sightsee,” Thrushfur scolded her. “Let’s go. The nursery is over there.”

“I _know_ where it is!” Flowerfall snorted. “Believe me, I should know. I spent a good two seasons in there, taking care of my kits!”

“All right, all right,” her mate soothed. “Don’t get worked up about it. We’re only here for one reason, which isn’t ‘to argue about everything.’”

Flowerfall sighed noisily, but crossed the clearing and squeezed into a tightly woven den of brambles and ivy. Thrushfur squirmed inside after her, complaining about the tiny entrance.

“Shh!” the white-and-gold cat hissed. “We don’t want to unnecessarily wake anyone!” She crept over to a nest along one wall of the den, where a dark brown tabby slept, curled around four young kits. Next to her snoozed a light gray tabby, two older kits sleeping beside her belly.

“Mousewind!” Flowerfall whispered into the silence. “Mousewind, wake up!”

The dark brown tabby blinked open bright blue eyes. “What? Who’s waking me in the dead of night? Can’t you let me sleep, for SpiritClan’s sake?”

“Mousewind! Look at me.”

Mousewind’s eyes focused, then widened. “Flowerfall? No! It can’t be! I must be dreaming!”

“No, you are not dreaming, Mousewind. Thrushfur!” She beckoned to her mate. “Come over here.”

“Thrushfur’s here too?” Mousewind gasped. “Flowerfall! Thrushfur! My parents! Oh, I’ve missed you so much! Have you come to visit my kits?”

“Well, that’s one reason,” Flowerfall purred. “We have a more important reason as well, but first, introduce us to your kits.”

“Well, there are four of them—two she-kits and two toms.” Mousewind gently ran a paw over the backs of a little ginger kit and a golden tabby kit. “The ginger one is Flaxkit, and the golden one is—surprise—Goldenkit. Looks almost like you, Flowerfall, doesn’t she?”

Flowerfall and Thrushfur shared a meaningful glance.

“What?”

“Nothing. Continue.”

“Then the two toms are Duskkit, this blue-gray one, and Juniperkit, the cream tabby.”

“Duskkit looks so much like you, Thrushfur!” Flowerfall exclaimed. “I’m so happy for you, Mousewind.”

“Thank you,” the queen murmured. “Now, what’s the real reason you came here? You said you had a more important one.”

Thrushfur cleared his throat. “We have a prophecy to share with you.”

“A prophecy?” Mousewind gave her father a shocked look. “But I’m not a medicine cat! Why are you telling this to _me_?”

“It is important that you know about this,” the blue-gray tom answered, his green eyes gentle. “Now. Flowerfall, ready?”

She nodded.

“All right.” The two SpiritClan cats leaned close to Mousewind and murmured the prophecy into her ear.

Mousewind looked at them with a puzzled expression. “What in the name of SpiritClan does _that_ mean? I mean, it’s pretty obvious that that happens, isn’t it? And—wait, _golden_...Goldenkit?”

“We can’t tell you. I am truly sorry, Mousewind, but that is something you will have to figure out. SpiritClan cats are forbidden from revealing the _meaning_ of prophecies—we can only deliver them to you.”

The queen sighed. “All right. I’ll do my best to figure it out.”

“Good luck, Mousewind.” Flowerfall gave her daughter a final nuzzle; then she and Thrushfur turned around and padded out of the den.

“Wait!” Mousewind cried. “Don’t go! I have so much more to ask you! Please stay!”

“Mousewind?” The gray tabby next to her stirred and opened her eyes. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, Wolfpelt.” Mousewind reassuringly licked her friend over the ear. “Just go back to sleep. We don’t want to wake up the kits.”

Wolfpelt looked unconvinced, but curled around her two kits and closed her eyes.

Mousewind sighed, her parents’ voices still echoing through her head as she fell asleep...

_What can that prophecy mean?_


	2. Chapter 2

“Goldenkit, from this moment on you shall be known as Goldenpaw. Your mentor will be Bramblefoot.”

Goldenpaw stepped forward to meet the large brown tabby approaching her. He bent his head as she stretched up on her toes, and mentor and apprentice touched noses.

“Goldenpaw! Goldenpaw!” the crowd of cats cheered, as Goldenpaw took a step back to stand with her two brothers, Duskpaw and Juniperpaw.

“And Flaxkit.” Darkstar, the leader of ForestClan, beckoned the small orange kit forward. Flaxkit obeyed, trotting up to the trunk of the large tree in which Darkstar balanced.

“Flaxkit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Flaxpaw. Flaxpaw, you have expressed an interest in becoming a medicine cat, so your mentor will be Marigoldpelt.”

Flaxpaw’s blue eyes shone as the pretty calico she-cat touched noses with her new apprentice and the cats of ForestClan lifted their voices once more. “Flaxpaw! Flaxpaw!”

Darkstar jumped down from the tree, nodded to his deputy Hawkflight, and disappeared into his den between the roots of the tree. The remaining cats stopped by to congratulate the four new apprentices, then wandered off in twos and threes.

“Congratulations, my kits!” Mousewind, Goldenpaw’s mother, bounded up to them, with Foxfur, her mate, right behind her. Purring, the dark brown tabby gave each of her kits a lick on the head.

Goldenpaw tolerated the lick, but Duskpaw squirmed away. “I’m not a kit anymore!”

Mousewind said nothing, but Goldenpaw distinctly saw her roll her eyes. Stifling a purr, the golden tabby backed away—and immediately crashed into something large and solid. Looking up, she realized that she had just run into her mentor! Her new mentor, whom she desperately needed to impress if she ever wanted to become a warrior!

“Sorry, Bramblefoot,” she mumbled, scrambling to her paws. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“It’s okay.” Bramblefoot stood up, arched his back and dug his claws into the ground, stretching his forelegs. “I’m all right. Now. It’s past sunhigh, so how about we leave the tour of the territory to tomorrow? You can have the rest of the afternoon to do whatever you like.”

Goldenpaw felt a stab of disappointment, but it was quickly replaced by a flutter of excitement. _I’m an apprentice now! I can do whatever I want, and_ —she shivered with excitement— _that includes going out of camp!_

Without hesitation, the apprentice bounded towards the tunnel leading into the forest. She paused at the entrance and sniffed; enticing scents wafted toward her, calling to her. _Goldenpaw! Goldenpaw! Come on out, it’s wonderful!_ Taking a deep breath, Goldenpaw stepped through the tunnel and into the forest.

She looked around eagerly. Ferns surrounded her, but looking up, she saw trees standing in thick clumps, their brilliant red-gold leaves fluttering to the ground and forming a soft carpet under her paws. Far away, a bird chirped, and as she drew in a long breath, a bewildering mixture hit her scent glands: the sharp scent of ferns, a sweet leafy smell and a hint of muskiness that reminded her of the fresh-kill pile.

“Hey! Goldenpaw!”

Yanked out of her reverie, Goldenpaw whirled around to see a tortoiseshell cat bounding toward her.

“Robinpaw! You startled me!”

“Sorry.” The apprentice flicked her tail. “I just wanted to say, congrats on becoming an apprentice! You’re going to love it.”

“Thanks,” Goldenpaw purred, turning back to gaze at the trees.

“Come on, I want to show you the apprentice den,” Robinpaw urged. With a sigh, Goldenpaw tore her eyes away from the forest and followed her denmate.

They found Stormpaw, Robinpaw’s brother, napping inside the den. Robinpaw prodded him sharply.

“Ouch!” The black apprentice raised his head, then spotted Goldenpaw. “Goldenkit, what are you doing here?”

Robinpaw jumped in before Goldenpaw could explain. “She’s Golden _paw_ now. You completely missed the apprentice ceremony, you lazybones!”

Stormpaw leapt to his paws and glared at the two she-cats. “Well, it’s not _my_ fault! I was on watch half the night, and then I had to do the dawn patrol, and _then_ Foxfur took me out hunting! I think I deserve a nap!” He was practically shouting now. “I don’t care about some _stupid_ apprentice ceremony!” The cat whirled around and stalked out of the den, lashing his tail furiously.

Goldenpaw watched him go. She had barely spoken to Stormpaw when they were kits, but he had seemed fairly normal and sociable. Now, she was starting to have second thoughts.

“Don’t mind Stormpaw.” Robinpaw sounded apologetic. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s not usually _this_ snappish.”

“Can I build my nest?” Goldenpaw asked, anxious to change the subject.

“Maybe we should find Duskpaw and Juniperpaw first. We can all go out into the forest together and collect moss.”

“Okay. Sure,” Goldenpaw replied, sliding out of the den after Robinpaw.

It didn’t take them long to find Duskpaw and Juniperpaw. Both of them were eagerly listening to a story that Morningbreeze, one of the elders, was telling them.

“And the rat was _huge_!” the ginger elder was mewing to the two enraptured apprentices. “Almost as big as one of you! It leapt towards me and—”

“Hey!” Robinpaw called. “Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you two wanted to come out into the forest with us to collect moss.”

Juniperpaw sprang up. “Sure! Duskpaw, you coming?”

“Okay.” The blue-black tom stood up. “As long as we can hear the rest of the story later.”

“You can,” Morningbreeze promised.

“Well, come on!” Robinpaw bounded out of the elders’ den, the three younger apprentices following.

Morningbreeze’s voice came faintly from inside the den. “Shouldn’t you ask permission from your mentor first?”

Robinpaw stopped in her tracks, the other three with her. “I completely forgot! Hold on, I’ll be right back.” She darted into the warriors’ den and re-emerged a moment later. “Voleclaw says we can go,” she reported. “Now hurry up, slowpokes, or we won’t be back before dark!” The tortoiseshell bounded away; Goldenpaw trotted after her.

Out in the forest, Robinpaw led them to a large moss-covered log. “This is one of the best places to get bedding. There’s tons of moss, and it’s all soft and thick.” She tore a piece off and tossed it at Goldenpaw. “See?”

“Oh yeah. I see that.” Goldenpaw sliced off a piece of moss from the log and let it fall to the ground. She turned back to the log, but before she could cut another piece, two bits of moss hurtled toward her, hitting her in the back.

Whirling around, she saw Juniperpaw and Duskpaw bent double, snorting with laughter. “Goldenpaw, you should have seen your face!”

Goldenpaw let out a playful snarl and flicked a scrap of moss at her brothers, then reached up to collect some more moss from the top of the log. The other two abandoned their mischief and came over to join her and Robinpaw, and by the time the sun touched the trees, the four apprentices had collected a good-sized pile of moss. Robinpaw divided up the moss into four bundles, and together they got it home.

Back in the den, Robinpaw dropped her moss and looked at the other three. “So, where do you guys want your nests?”

Setting down her bedding, Goldenpaw looked around the den. Every spot looked about the same. “I don’t really care.”

“I know where I want mine to be!" Juniperpaw sprang forward. "Right near the edge here! Robinpaw, is that okay?”

The tortoiseshell nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

Juniperpaw carefully spread the moss out in his corner, settled down in it, tucked his tail over his nose and started snoring instantly.

Goldenpaw barely suppressed a snicker. _A heartbeat ago, he was all bouncy and full of energy, and look at him now._

“So, Duskpaw, where do you want to go?” Robinpaw asked.

“Um...I guess I’ll go here.” The blue-black tom arranged his moss between Juniperpaw’s nest and Robinpaw’s.

Goldenpaw picked up her moss and laid it out against another wall of the den, close to Robinpaw’s. She trod around in it for a few moments, then lay down and started to groom her tail.

A black head poked into the den. “Hey, you guys, I wanted to let you know that the rest of the Clan is eating right now. Coming?”

“Oh. Thanks, Stormpaw.” Robinpaw got up from her own nest and followed her brother outside. Reluctantly, Goldenpaw dragged herself out and exited the den. She was tired, but her hunger was worse than her exhaustion.

*

“So, how did you two like your first day as an apprentice?” Mousewind wanted to know, as she, Foxfur, Goldenpaw and Duskpaw ate together. Flaxpaw was busily discussing herbs with Marigoldpelt, and Juniperpaw had gone off to eat with Robinpaw and Stormpaw.

“It was good.” Goldenpaw took a bite of mouse. “We just collected moss and built our nests.”

“What did you think of the other apprentices?” Foxfur asked.

“Well...” Goldenpaw hesitated. “Robinpaw’s really nice, but Stormpaw seems...kind of touchy, if you know what I mean. Almost like Duskpaw.”

“Hey!” Her brother gave her a shove.

Barely concealing a grin, Goldenpaw nudged him back. “Well, it’s true. You can’t deny it.”

Duskpaw turned on her, but Mousewind spoke up sharply. “Stop that, right now! Are you two being kind and loving to each other?”

Goldenpaw rolled her eyes and nibbled at her prey. _I was just teasing! Any cat could see that!_

Not much was said after that, and once Goldenpaw had gulped down the rest of her meal, she headed off for the apprentices’ den with only a curt “Good night” to her parents.

The den was still empty. Goldenpaw settled down in her nest and ran her tongue along her back, smoothing down the long golden fur. As she started on her tail, the branches at the entrance rustled, and Stormpaw marched in.

“So, how do you like being an apprentice?” he inquired, curling up in his nest.

“It’s pretty good,” Goldenpaw replied warily. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow, though. I’ll get to see the whole forest, and...” She trailed off, unsure of how Stormpaw would react.

He nodded. “Yeah. When I saw the forest for the first time, it seemed absolutely _huge_ , and I didn’t know how I’d ever find my way around. Now I’m more comfortable in it, and I mostly know where things are. Although it’s still a bit confusing.”

“I know. I went out for a bit with the others, and it was really pretty, but...well, intimidating, I guess,” Goldenpaw ventured.

The black cat opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the entrance of Robinpaw and Juniperpaw. No sooner had the two of them settled down in their nests than Duskpaw stomped in, muttering about something. Goldenpaw caught the phrase “stupid sisters” at least twice, and stifled a purr.

“Isn’t it great being an apprentice?” Juniperpaw gushed. “I mean, we’ll have more responsibilities now, and all that, but we’ll get to do so much more and learn so much!”

Stormpaw raised his head. “Yes. It’s great. You’ll love it. Now be quiet and go to sleep, please.”

The cream tabby ignored him, carrying on a whispered conversation with Robinpaw. Stormpaw hissed under his breath, but said nothing.

A snicker came from Juniperpaw, followed by a low giggle from Robinpaw, and soon the two young cats were snorting and shaking with suppressed laughter. After a final fruitless attempt to calm down, Juniperpaw completely lost it and buried his face in his nest, howling with laughter.

Suddenly, Stormpaw rose to his paws. “Shut up! In case you hadn’t noticed, some of us are trying to sleep here, so everyone just SHUT UP!” He bellowed the last two words, then flung himself down in his nest and turned away.

Goldenpaw glanced at him in shock. _Stormpaw! You can get the message across_ without _screaming! Seriously, there’s no need to yell!_ She sighed and tucked her tail over her nose. _What a short-tempered cat._


	3. Chapter 3

A mouse was running through the forest, frantically trying to escape, and Goldenpaw was chasing after it. She followed it through the trees, weaving around obstacles, trying to catch up to it, when suddenly it stopped, turned around and boomed in a deep voice, “Goldenpaw! Wake—”

Goldenpaw was jerked awake by a voice calling to her from outside the den. She yawned, stretched, settled back down in her nest, closed her eyes and was just about to drift off to sleep when—

“Oh, no you don’t.” Twigs crunched outside the den, and a large paw shook her shoulder. “Come on, Goldenpaw, get up.”

Bleary-eyed, Goldenpaw glanced up at the brown tabby tom standing over her. The events of the previous day came rushing back to her, and suddenly she was wide awake. _I’m an apprentice now, and Bramblefoot said he would take me to see the forest! Right!_ She sprang to her paws, quivering with excitement.

“Ready to go?” Bramblefoot asked.

“Definitely!” Goldenpaw scampered out of the den.

Outside, she was dismayed to see Foxfur and Stormpaw waiting for them. _Don’t tell me we have to go with Stormpaw! He’s such a crabby cat._

“Yes, they’re coming with us,” Bramblefoot mewed, as if he could read her thoughts. “I thought it might be good to take another young cat along, so you wouldn’t be bored by your senile old mentor. Your siblings are busy with something else, so Stormpaw’s coming instead. And two apprentices is a bit much for one old cat to handle, so Foxfur’s coming as well.”

In spite of herself, Goldenpaw had to purr. _Senile old mentor? He’s not an elder yet!_

“All right, then. Let’s get going.”

Goldenpaw followed her mentor as he led her, Stormpaw and Foxfur into the forest, but her excited mood was dampened by the presence of Stormpaw. After last night’s outburst, she was reluctant to even look at him for fear he might yell at her.

As they entered the forest, however, her mood brightened a bit. Despite the cloudy sky, the trees were just as pretty as yesterday, and as a golden leaf drifted past her nose, Goldenpaw couldn’t resist pouncing on it, slamming it to the ground. More leaves flew into the air, and she pranced around, trying to catch them all. Stormpaw leapt after her, capturing a doomed leaf between his paws and killing it with a single slash.

“Enough!” The cry came from Bramblefoot. Both apprentices looked up guiltily, a shred of leaf hanging from one of Stormpaw’s claws.

“You are _apprentices_!” the brown tabby scolded. “We have important things to do today, and we’ll never get them done if the two of you keep playing around like this! If you want to act like kits, why don’t you go back to the nursery for a while until you’ve learned to _behave_?”

The two young cats exchanged a glance and mumbled, “Sorry, Bramblefoot.”

“You’d better be.” With a flick of his tail, Bramblefoot stalked away. Goldenpaw and Stormpaw meekly followed him.

Foxfur was waiting for them in a grassy clearing a little way ahead. “What took you so long?” he wanted to know as the three approached.

Bramblefoot muttered something Goldenpaw couldn’t catch, then took a deep breath and turned to face the two apprentices. “Goldenpaw, this is the training clearing. A lot of your battle and hunting training will go on here, and on special occasions, the Clan will gather here to eat, instead of in camp.”

His words ignited a dim memory in Goldenpaw’s head. She had been three moons old when...

_Earlier in the day, a large patrol of warriors had left the camp, returning near sunset battered and scratched, but boasting of a victory against StormClan. That night, Darkstar led all the warriors, apprentices and elders out of camp to celebrate with a victory feast. Goldenkit wailed with the unfairness of it all, because she wasn’t allowed to go too. “It’s not fair,” she complained. “I can eat fresh-kill too, and I’m sure I could have fought in the battle if I was allowed. Why can’t I go?” Mousewind held a little celebration for all six of the kits, but it just wasn’t the same._

“Goldenpaw! Pay attention!” her mentor barked.

“S-sorry,” Goldenpaw stammered, jerked suddenly out of her memory. “I was just...”

“Come on. Next stop is the Cloud Maple.” He led the other cats across the clearing and into the trees, and Goldenpaw had no choice but to follow.

“Remember that time three moons ago, when the Clan went to feast out here?” Stormpaw murmured as they trotted after the older cats. “I remember I was really upset because I couldn’t go. I was a _big_ kit, _four whole moons_ old, and I should be allowed to come.”

Goldenpaw purred. “Oh, yeah, I remember that. I was just thinking about it, actually. Remember the mini-feast Mousewind had with us?”

He nodded. “Definitely. It didn’t really make up for it, though.”

“I know.” Goldenpaw quickened her pace to keep up with Foxfur and Bramblefoot, and she and Stormpaw lapsed into silence.

Just heartbeats later, they emerged into another space, this one with a huge tree right in the middle of it. Approaching the tree, Goldenpaw noticed four piles of rocks, two tiny and two slightly larger, at the base of it. Two contained a maple leaf; two, a cluster of tiny white flowers. What did they stand for?

“What are you looking at?” Foxfur’s deep mew startled her.

“Those rocks.” Goldenpaw waved her tail towards the four little heaps. “I was wondering why they’re there.”

“Well.” Her father sat down beside her. “That’s a very long, sad, complicated story which you’ll hear another day.”

“Oh.” Goldenpaw was disappointed. “Does it have to do with why the tree is called the Cloud Maple?”

He nodded. “That’s right. Remind me this evening, and I’ll see if the elders are willing to tell you. Actually, you could ask them yourself, if you’re brave enough.”

As Goldenpaw rolled her eyes— _”If you’re brave enough”? What on earth? I’m not a kit!_ —Stormpaw called to them. “Goldenpaw! Foxfur! We’re going to see the Flower Hollow!”

 _Flower Hollow. What a pretty name!_ Goldenpaw thought as she wandered away from the Cloud Maple to join Stormpaw.

*

The Flower Hollow turned out to be the place where the four warrior Clans—ForestClan, StormClan, RippleClan and EarthClan—met at the full moon for a meeting they called a Rosewish. Very appropriately named, it was filled with flowers of all kinds, except for a large log in the centre where the leaders stood to speak to the Clans.

Spotting a large lily, its white petals perfectly formed, Goldenpaw darted down into the hollow and over to the flower. She was just about to bite through the stem when three voices simultaneously shouted, “NO! STOP!”

Goldenpaw turned around. “What’s the matter?”

“Don’t you know about the rule in the warrior code that says you’re not allowed to pick flowers from the Flower Hollow?” Bramblefoot demanded.

“N-no! I didn’t!” Goldenpaw scampered back up to the edge of the hollow. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know that!”

“ _Don’t_ do it again,” her mentor growled.

“Sorry,” Goldenpaw whimpered.

“Let’s go. Next stop is the RippleClan border.” The brown tabby stalked away, with Goldenpaw scrambling to catch up.

They reached the border with RippleClan just as one of their patrols passed by. One of the cats in the patrol deliberately strayed nearly into ForestClan territory, almost walking on the border between the two.

“Mouse-brain!” Stormpaw shouted. “Stay in your own territory, unless you want to be slaughtered and left to the crows!”

“Stormpaw!” Foxfur gave his apprentice a disapproving look. “Don’t intentionally provoke cats from a different Clan. We don’t want to start a fight.”

“Can I intentionally provoke cats from my _own_ Clan?” the black cat asked cheekily.

Foxfur good-naturedly flicked his tail over Stormpaw’s ear. “You already are, my dear apprentice.”

Stormpaw just grinned.

Goldenpaw glanced at her denmate in surprise. _I didn’t know there was a sense of humour hidden underneath all that snappishness._ She purred and kept following the others.

Their next stop was the High-Cliff, a tall slab of rock that jutted out above the trees. Goldenpaw took a running leap at it, scrabbling with her paws in an attempt to climb it, but the rock was too steep and she tumbled to the ground.

Foxfur was at her side in an instant. “Are you hurt?”

Goldenpaw scrambled to her paws. “I-I’ll be fine.” She stretched each leg, checking for injuries; to her relief, she had only bruised one of her paws. “I’m okay. Let’s go.”

“Be more careful, okay?” Her father gave her ear a reassuring lick. “We don’t want to lose you.”

Irritation swelled inside Goldenpaw. _Honestly, I’m fine! You don’t have to treat me like a kit!_ She forced it down and mewed, “Really, it’s okay. I’m not hurt.”

“All right, then.” Foxfur nudged her on. “Come on. The others are waiting.”

Next to the High-Cliff ran a little dirt path that Bramblefoot told her had been created by Twolegs—large, hairless creatures that walked on only two legs and lived in huge dens made of wood or stone. Goldenpaw sniffed the path, and an odd scent hit her nostrils: too clean, somehow, as if they had never been outside for more than a few heartbeats, never gotten dirty, never—ugh—cleared out soiled bedding. Too fresh.

The four cats followed the Twoleg path until it met up with a much bigger, hard, black path. “This is called the Thunderpath,” Foxfur explained. “Twolegs made it so they could drive monsters along it. Why they can’t just walk, SpiritClan knows. Maybe they’re too unsteady on just two legs.”

“What are monsters?” Goldenpaw wanted to know.

“You’ll see,” Bramblefoot mewed grimly. “Just stay away from the edge.”

Goldenpaw took a cautious step back, wondering what was about to happen. She heard a low whine, which turned into a low roar, steadily growing louder, and pricked her ears, leaning forward to see what the source of it was.

“Stay back!” Her mentor grabbed the scruff of her neck and yanked her back. Just as he did, a huge shiny thing zoomed past, whirling up a cloud of dust and dirt and bringing an overpowering stench with it. Goldenpaw spotted a large creature inside the monster, its light brown paws clenched tightly on a big, round, black thing.

“Was that a monster? And a Twoleg?” the golden tabby asked.

“That’s right,” Bramblefoot replied. “In fact, our next stop is the place where all of them live, called the Twolegplace. We won’t go very far into it—it can be dangerous in there, especially for apprentices—but you can get a look at it from the outside.”

Goldenpaw sighed. _Just because I’m an apprentice, he thinks I can’t handle danger. I can take care of myself!_

The Twolegplace took a while to reach, but when they got there, Goldenpaw was astonished by its size. Large dens towered over her head, most of them surrounded by tall things that looked like trees but were straight and didn’t have leaves.

“We call the big dens Twoleg dens,” Bramblefoot told her. “And the wooden things surrounding them are known as fences. I don’t know why Twolegs put them there. Maybe they’re scared of us and want to keep us away from their kittypets.”

“What are kittypets?”

“They’re cats like us, but they’re fat and lazy and live in Twoleg dens. There comes one right now, in fact.” The brown tabby gestured with his tail towards a young dark ginger she-cat padding along the top of the fence. She looked quite thin, except for her belly, which was as swollen as if she had just swallowed another cat whole.

Stormpaw sidled up to Goldenpaw. “I didn’t know kittypets were _that_ fat!” he hissed into her ear.

Foxfur overheard. “She’s not fat—she’s expecting kits. Don’t be rude.”

“Sorry,” the apprentice muttered.

Meanwhile, the young kittypet had reached them. “Hello!” she called down. “You must be some of those cats who live in the forest. My name’s Nellie. What about you?”

“I’m Golden—” Goldenpaw started to say, but was hushed by Bramblefoot.

“We don’t speak to kittypets,” he murmured. “They’re far inferior to us. Fatter than a squirrel living in a nut tree, completely reliant on their Twolegs and no more sense than a mouse. There’s no use talking to them anyway.”

Nellie looked down at Goldenpaw. “Golden, did you say? Well, nice to meet you, Golden.” She leapt down from the fence, staggering a little as she landed, and leaned forward to touch noses. Goldenpaw grudgingly touched her nose to the young kittypet’s, a little put off by her overly friendly nature.

“Golden _paw_ , it’s time to go,” Bramblefoot called. “Come on.” There was a note of warning in his voice, and Goldenpaw guessed that he was strongly against her talking to a kittypet, but didn’t want to say it in front of Nellie.

“Bye, Golden! I’ll see you soon!” Nellie gave her a friendly nudge, then clawed her way up onto the fence, breathing heavily with the weight of her unborn kits. “Maybe next time you see me, my kittens will be born! You can come visit them!”

 _Now that is a tempting offer. New kits are adorable. I don’t think Bramblefoot would like that much, though, and plus—I’d have to go inside a Twoleg den for that! Ugh!_ Goldenpaw shuddered, then glanced at Nellie one more time and bounded over to Bramblefoot, Foxfur and Stormpaw.

“Goldenpaw, I don’t want you talking to kittypets,” Bramblefoot mewed sternly. “They’re really not worth it. Okay?”

“Okay,” Goldenpaw muttered. “Fine. I’ll stay away from kittypets.”

“Thank you.” Her mentor padded back into the trees. “We should head home. It’s getting late.”

It sure didn’t feel late to Goldenpaw, but looking up, she realized that the sun was approaching the horizon already. _Wow. Did we really spend a whole day out here? Sure doesn’t feel like it._ Only now did she realize how tired she was, but she still had to get home. _Come on. Pull yourself together. It’s not that far._ Actually, she had no idea how far it was to the camp, but ForestClan territory wasn’t _that_ big, was it?

*

They reached camp just as the sun was sinking behind the trees. Goldenpaw’s legs felt like trees had been strapped to them, and she wanted nothing more than a nice piece of fresh-kill and a soft, warm nest.

“Goldenkit—I mean Goldenpaw!” A silver-and-black kit bounced up to her. “Will you play moss-ball with me?”

“Not now, Moonkit.” Goldenpaw gave the kit a nudge. “Go on. Ask Tinyfoot to play with you. Or Voleclaw.”

“Tinyfoot’s all sad,” Moonkit squeaked. “I don’t know why. She won’t tell me. She just keeps on whispering names. ‘Cinderkit. Snowkit.’ I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“Oh...” Goldenpaw bent down next to the little tabby. “Moonkit, do you remember your littermates? Cinderkit and Snowkit? They died when you were very young.”

Moonkit shook her head. “No.”

“Ask Tinyfoot. She’ll tell you.” Goldenpaw picked up the kit by the scruff of her neck, staggering a little—for two moons old, she was one heavy kit—and carried her into the nursery. “If Tinyfoot won’t tell you, you can ask Voleclaw. He might.”

“What’s this about me?” Tinyfoot lifted her head, her green eyes flashing in the half-darkness. “Moonkit, what were you doing outside? It’s long past your bedtime.”

“She was asking about Cinderkit and Snowkit.” Goldenpaw set the kit down and backed out of the den, leaving Moonkit to her fate.

Mousewind was waiting outside for her. “There you are, Goldenpaw. You look exhausted. Go to bed.”

“I will,” Goldenpaw murmured, leaning against her mother. “Just let me eat something, then I will.”

The dark brown tabby gave her daughter’s ears a lick. “All right. But go to sleep soon, all right?”

Goldenpaw nodded. Padding over to the fresh-kill pile, she devoured a mouse, then crawled into the apprentices’ den and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the mossy floor.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, Goldenpaw,” Duskpaw hissed. “I bet you can’t catch that mouse.”

“Of course I can!” Goldenpaw was outraged. “Mice are about the easiest thing in the forest to catch. Except maybe you.”

“Hey!” Duskpaw lunged at his sister, but Goldenpaw ducked away laughing.

“Haha, too slow. Anyway, I’m going to prove you wrong! I _will_ catch that mouse.”

Her brother snorted in indignation, but stood back as Goldenpaw crept forward, using the hunter’s crouch that Fernheart, Duskpaw’s mentor, had taught all the apprentices half a moon earlier. Paw by paw, she pulled herself closer to the mouse, until it was just over a tail-length from her—the perfect pouncing distance. With a leap, the golden tabby landed on the mouse, half-squashing it beneath her paws, and bit its neck to finish it off.

“You nearly tore it in half,” Duskpaw pointed out.

Goldenpaw glanced at the mouse. Its neck was partially severed, but otherwise it looked fine. “You’re just jealous because you couldn’t catch a mouse if it walked up to you and stood still.”

“Ha! _You’re_ just trying to cover up the fact that you enjoy tearing the heads off innocent mice!” the blue-gray tom retorted.

Snarling playfully, Goldenpaw leapt on top of her brother, bowling him over. He lashed out with a paw, catching her nose, but luckily his claws were sheathed and her nose remained whole. Goldenpaw snapped at his ear, acting like she was about to bite down on it, but Duskpaw squirmed away from her, ducking his head. Thinking he was giving in, Goldenpaw relaxed her grip on him just a fraction, but the moment her hold lessened, he shot upwards, flinging her to the ground.

“Okay,” Goldenpaw panted. “Fine. You win. Whatever. _I’m_ going to bring this mouse back to camp.” She picked up her catch in her jaws and headed back towards home.

“I’ll come with you. I’ve had enough of hunting.” Duskpaw scrambled to his paws and trotted after her.

“You didn’t catch _anything_!” Goldenpaw mumbled indignantly around her mouse.

“It’s nearly leaf-bare. What can you expect?” Her brother slowed down a bit, matching his pace to hers. “Prey’s scarce in leaf-bare. Every cat knows that.”

“Still, you could have at least _tried_!” Goldenpaw snorted. “All _you_ do is boss other cats around and act like you can do so much more, when in reality Moonkit could do much better than you!”

Duskpaw huffed and quickened his pace, drawing ahead of her. Goldenpaw wasn’t sad to see him leave.

*

“Hey, nice job! That mouse looks delicious!” Juniperpaw mewed, approaching Goldenpaw at the fresh-kill pile.

“Thanks,” Goldenpaw purred. “No thanks to Duskpaw.” She cast a dirty look towards the blue-gray tom, who was tearing into a shrew just a few tail-lengths away.

“He can be so lazy and grouchy,” Juniperpaw agreed. “Fernheart asked him to clean out the elders’ den and he nearly clawed her ears off.”

Goldenpaw nodded, but before she could say anything Stormpaw came bounding up to them.

“You’ll never believe what I just heard! All three of our mentors were talking over there, and I heard the words ‘apprentices’ and ‘Rosewish’! I think we’re going to the Rosewish tonight.”

Stormpaw gestured with his tail over to the other side of the camp. Bramblefoot, Foxfur and Featherflight—Juniperpaw’s mentor—were indeed deep in conversation, but Goldenpaw couldn’t catch any of what they were saying. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure! Wait till Darkstar announces who’s going to the Rosewish, and then we’ll see who’s right.”

The golden tabby grinned. “Well, I sure hope you’re right.”

*

“The cats coming to the Rosewish tonight will be Hawkflight, Nightbreeze, Splashfur, Featherflight, Bramblefoot, Foxfur, Palestripe, Stormpaw, Goldenpaw and Juniperpaw,” Darkstar announced from the High-Tree.

“You were right!” Goldenpaw squealed. “We’re going to the Rosewish! Oh, I’m so excited!”

“I know.” Stormpaw was calmer, but his shining eyes revealed his excitement. “Now come on. I think the rest of the cats are leaving.”

Feeling as though she was going to burst with excitement, Goldenpaw followed the black tom across camp and through the tunnel to join the rest of ForestClan.

Foxfur trotted over to them. “Ah. Good, you two are here. Now let’s get going.” The dark ginger tom pulled ahead to fall into step with Bramblefoot, and the two of them started discussing some long-ago battle with EarthClan.

 _Boring._ Goldenpaw slowed down a bit so she wouldn’t have to listen to their mind-numbing conversation. Behind her, she heard Featherflight and Nightbreeze talking, and caught some of their chatter.

“Featherflight, I’ve got some really good news—I can scarcely believe it!”

Goldenpaw pricked her ears, listening hard.

“I just went to see Marigoldpelt this morning, and she told me something incredible—I’m expecting kits!”

“Oh, my goodness! Congratulations, Nightbreeze. Are they Rowanwhisker’s?”

“Of course,” the dark gray she-cat purred. “Who else could be the father?” She and Rowanwhisker had loved each other since kithood.

“When are they due?”

“Just over a moon from now.”

“Well, congratulations. I’m very happy for you.”

 _Nightbreeze is expecting kits!_ Goldenpaw was bursting to tell someone the news. She scampered up to her father and her mentor, who were now discussing Duskpaw’s behaviour— _finally, something interesting!_ —and mewed, “Did you hear? Nightbreeze is going to have kits!”

“Good for her,” Foxfur remarked good-naturedly, but Bramblefoot cast Goldenpaw a stern look.

“Did Nightbreeze tell you it was okay to tell others about this?” he asked.

“Er, no...”

“Then you shouldn’t be telling anyone. It’s not very polite to gossip about other cats behind their backs.”

Ashamed, Goldenpaw looked at the ground. “Sorry.”

“Just don’t tell anyone else.” Bramblefoot turned away from her and resumed his conversation with Foxfur.

“Hey, Goldenpaw!” Juniperpaw called from farther ahead. “Come walk with me and Stormpaw!”

Relieved to have an excuse to get away from Bramblefoot, Goldenpaw raced to catch up with the other two apprentices. “Hi. What’s up?”

“The sky,” Stormpaw muttered, while at the same time Juniperpaw replied, “Nothing! Just keep us company.”

“Okay. Sure.” Goldenpaw turned to her brother. “Aren’t you excited for the Rosewish?”

“Of course!” His amber eyes shone. “I’ll get to meet cats from other Clans, and hear the other leaders announce news, and...”

“I know. I’m looking forward to it.” Goldenpaw shivered; it was growing cold as the sun sank behind the trees. Leaf-bare would be here soon.

“Cold?” Stormpaw asked, his pelt brushing hers as he fell into step with her.

“A bit,” Goldenpaw shrugged.

“At least you’ve got a thick pelt.” There was laughter in his mew, but also a touch of envy as he went on, “Mine’s as short as the days in leaf-bare. You’re lucky.”

“Well, short pelts are way easier to groom,” Goldenpaw pointed out. “You hardly have to do _anything_ to take care of it.”

“True. Hey, look, we’re getting close to the Flower Hollow.”

“Really?” Goldenpaw leapt into the air, trying to see over the heads of the other cats. Sure enough, she glimpsed the hollow just in front of them. “Oh, I’m so excited!”

They reached the Flower Hollow just heartbeats later. Goldenpaw paused for a moment at the top of the hollow, inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers, before leaping to her paws and bounding down into the centre with the rest of ForestClan.

A large black-and-white warrior, his pelt carrying the dusty scent of EarthClan, shouldered Goldenpaw aside as she wormed her way through the crowd. “Watch it, kit!” he growled.

Indignation filled her. _I’m not a kit! I’m eight moons old, for SpiritClan’s sake!_ She glared at the EarthClan warrior, but he had already disappeared into the mass of cats.

“Hey there! You look a little lost! This your first Rosewish?” A gray tabby apprentice bounded up to her.

“Um, yes. I’m Goldenpaw.”

“I’m Rainpaw,” the gray she-cat sparkled, her green eyes shining. “You’re from ForestClan, right? I’m StormClan.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Rainpaw.” Goldenpaw was already starting to like the spunky apprentice. “How old are you?”

“Ten moons. This is my second Rosewish. You?”

“Eight moons.”

“First Rosewish?”

“Yes, of course!”

Rainpaw’s eyes twinkled. “Well, it could in theory be your third Rosewish. This one cat, Blackpaw, he’d been to four Rosewishes by the time he was ten moons old.” She leaned a little closer and whispered, “Between you and me, I think the leader favoured him above the other apprentices. He never got in trouble, he never had to take care of the elders or anything... Totally unfair, but”—she shrugged—“that’s the way Amberstar is. Thank goodness our _deputy_ is half-decent.”

“Shush!” A pale golden tom hissed at them. “The leaders are going to start the Rosewish any moment.”

“Sorry.” Rainpaw gave Goldenpaw an exasperated look. “ _That_ is Sundapple. He’s one of the grumpiest cats in StormClan. Just ignore him.”

“Heard that!” Sundapple snapped.

Rainpaw rolled her eyes at Goldenpaw.

“Cats of the Clans!” An orange-brown she-cat—“That’s Amberstar,” Rainpaw muttered—leapt to the top of the log, her pelt glowing in the moonlight. “Let the Rosewish begin!”

One by one, the leaders stepped forward to announce news. EarthClan had two new apprentices; StormClan had a new litter of kits. Darkstar was the last of the four leaders to speak; his announcement was brief.

“ForestClan is faring well. SpiritClan has blessed us with good, strong, healthy warriors and promising apprentices. We have no new kits yet, but that will soon change.” He glanced at Nightbreeze, who gave her chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks. “May SpiritClan bless us all this leaf-bare.” 

The gray and-black tom leapt down from the log, officially ending the Rosewish. “ForestClan, to me!”

Goldenpaw was about to join the rest of ForestClan, but a flash of red caught her eye. A gorgeous red rose, pristine and perfect, grew on a bush just a tail-length away. Dangling temptingly almost in front of her nose, it seemed to call to her.  _ Come closer, Goldenpaw. Just come closer. _

It was too tempting to resist. Goldenpaw took a step towards the rose. Then another. Then another. Before she knew what she was doing, she was reaching for the stem of the rose with her teeth...they closed around the stem...they snapped the stem in half.

“WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE?” a voice roared.

Terrified, Goldenpaw whirled around, only to see that she was no longer in the Flower Hollow. Instead, she stood in a small grassy clearing in the middle of a forest. On the ground in front of her lay a ginger-and-white she-cat, gasping with pain. With horror, Goldenpaw noticed the gash across her neck, gushing blood.  _ What in the name of SpiritClan is going on? _

The injured she-cat managed to raise herself up on her front paws. “You!” she croaked. “You were the one who destroyed my tie to SpiritClan! You picked the flower! You will pay for this, and you will pay dearly!”

_ No! No! No! I didn’t mean to do this! Why did I pick that rose? I should have stopped myself in time! And now I’ve killed a SpiritClan cat! NO! _

“You...will..regret...this,” the cat gurgled. “You will regret the day you ever dared to pick a flower from the Flower Hollow. HOW DARE YOU? How...dare...you...”

“I am so, so, so sorry,” Goldenpaw whimpered. “Please, forgive me. Please. At least...tell me your name.”

“Frostflower,” the SpiritClan cat choked. Blood started to pour harder from her wound, staining the ground red. Goldenpaw desperately pressed down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. Frostflower’s eyes dulled, her head fell back and her life was taken for the second time.

“NO!” Goldenpaw screamed. “No! I didn’t mean to do this! Please! FROSTFLOWER!” She was overcome by a rush of dizziness and fought to stay upright. “Please, no!” She staggered and fell to the ground, and the world went dark.


	5. Chapter 5

_Voices. So many voices._

“Goldenpaw!”

“What happened?”

“She’s not answering!”

“Is she dead?”

“Here, let me see her. She’s not dead—she’s only unconscious. We need to get her back to camp as soon as we can.”

“I’ll carry her back.”

“All right. Thank you, Foxfur.”

*

“Can I see her?”

“Mousewind, Bramblefoot and Juniperpaw are already here. You _know_ I said no more than three visitors at once.”

“Please, Marigoldpelt? Please can I see her? _Please_?”

“All right. Fine.”

_What is going on?_

“Goldenpaw, are you okay?”

“Stormpaw, it’s useless. She can’t hear you.”

_Or can she?_

“Look! I think she’s waking up!”

_I can see faces. Fuzzy faces._

“Goldenpaw? Are you awake?”

The faces were starting to come into focus. _There’s Mousewind...and Juniperpaw...and Stormpaw...wait, why is Stormpaw here? Why in the name of SpiritClan would he want to visit me?_

“Goldenpaw?”

Goldenpaw groaned and opened her eyes. Mousewind, Bramblefoot, Juniperpaw, Stormpaw and Marigoldpelt were all watching her anxiously. “What’s going on?”

“You’ve been out cold for two sunrises.” Stormpaw’s tone was soft, his amber eyes gentle. “How much do you remember?”

“The Flower Hollow...the Rosewish,” Goldenpaw murmured, still quite disoriented. “The rose...Frostflower!” She sat bolt upright, memories flooding back to her.

“Are you all right?” Mousewind asked.

“No! I’m  _ not _ all right! I broke the warrior code! And I picked a flower from the Flower Hollow and killed a SpiritClan cat! I KILLED FROSTFLOWER!” Goldenpaw slumped in her nest, suddenly overcome with exhaustion.

Her mother stepped closer to her. “Goldenpaw, just try to calm down, okay?”

“But I  _ can’t _ calm down!” Goldenpaw wailed, burying her face in the soft moss. “I broke the warrior code! I KILLED A CAT! How can I possibly calm down?”

The older cats exchanged worried looks.

“Goldenpaw, can you tell us what happened?” Bramblefoot mewed gently.

“Not now.” Marigoldpelt stepped forward and set down a wad of leaves. “She’s too upset right now. Here, Goldenpaw, eat these.” She nudged the leaves closer.

Goldenpaw obediently lapped up the leaves.

Flaxpaw sidled into the den, a few strips of bark clamped in her jaws. “I got the alder bark, Marigoldpelt. Where should I—Goldenpaw! You’re awake!”

“Yes,” Goldenpaw agreed listlessly. “Good to see you.”

“We were so worried,” the pale orange she-cat whispered, dropping the alder bark. “Apparently you just fell down for no reason at all, and nobody could figure out what was wrong. I’m so glad you’re okay!”

_ But I’m not okay! _ Goldenpaw wanted to scream in frustration, but the herbs the medicine cat had given her were lessening her shock, and the scream died in her throat.

 

TO BE CONTINUED LATER


End file.
